April 30, 2012

This year's blog was the collaboration of three contributors: Kathryn the aspiring scout, Alex the aspiring sports journalist and me, the aspiring sports photographer. We combined our love of hockey and the 67's to give you our insights over the season. I have asked Kathryn and Alex each to do a season wrap-up from their point of view. This post is from my point of view - from behind the lens. I hope we hear from Kathryn and Alex soon.

April 28, 2012

After a disappointing game 4 loss at home, the Ottawa 67’s
found themselves in a hole looking at a 3-1 series deficit. A deficit they were able to overcome in round
2, but this time it was against a team that was relatively healthy and could
roll a full four lines no problem.

It was not the start Ottawa wanted. With Dalton Smith in the box for boarding, Freddie
Hamilton set up Ryan Strome in the high slot and wired it past Petr Mrazek at
the 2:02 mark of the first period to end his 6 game goalless drought.

Ottawa would respond with just over one minute later on the
powerplay. Mark Visentin made a huge
save off a Mike Cajkovsky point shot, but let out a big rebound. Sean Monahan was right in front and
redirected the rebound into the back of the net.

The fans at the Gatorade Garden City Complex were treated to
a nearly 20 minute delay well before the halfway mark of the game with a
malfunctioning penalty box door. Perhaps
the IceDogs may have caught a break, as the 67’s were starting to get back into
the game with a sense of urgency. Play resumed
for the 14 minute mark and Mrazek came up big stopping 17 of 19 shots fired his
way in the first period as Niagara dominated the last half of the period. Freddie Hamilton added a late goal after the
67’s got caught flatfooted creating a clean breakaway and Hamilton slid the
puck through the fivehole on Mrazek.

The 67’s would come out for the second period until they ran
into some penalty trouble. Just as the
powerplay expired, Alex Friesen would give the IceDogs a two-goal lead after
tipping in a Dougie Hamilton shot from the short side. Mrazek and Visentin were solid the rest of
the period.

A powerplay midway through the third period would give the
67’s some life. Tyler Toffoli fed Jake
Cardwell who was all alone out front and made no mistake to tap it into a wide
open net.

The 67’s caught another break as Freddie Hamilton took a bad
penalty in the last two minutes. The 67’s
fired everything they could at Visentin, but despite two extra attackers and
the scrambles out front – the buzzer horned signalling the end of the game. The
end of the series and the end of junior hockey careers for Marc Zanetti, Daniel
Broussard and Mike Cazzola.

The 67’s fell 3-2 to the Ice Dogs in regulation and fall 4 games
to 1 in the series. The Ice Dogs advance
to the OHL Finals vs the London Knights for the first time in their club
history.

April 26, 2012

Petr Mrazek stopped 39 shots, but it wasn’t enough as the Niagara IceDogs skated to a 5-2 victory over the host Ottawa 67’s. The win gives the IceDogs a 3-1 series lead and puts the 67’s in a must win situation Friday night at the Gatorade Garden City Complex.

April 23, 2012

The past two days have been wild for Niagara Ice Dogs goaltender Mark Visentin, but it appears as though he's redeemed himself for an otherwise rocky performance in Games Two and Three. He scored the final goal into Ottawa's empty net, a shorthanded goal that he sent the length of the ice for his first career goal, putting the finishing touches on a 5-2 Ice Dogs win as the visitors take a 2-1 series lead.

by Alex Quevillon
After playing a terrific road game on Friday night, it looked as though the Ottawa 67’s had already found themselves in an insurmountable hole against the Niagara Ice Dogs. One game later, the mindset has completely changed and the 67’s have the ball in their court, earning themselves a well-deserved split heading back to Ottawa.

April 14, 2012

by Alex Quevillon
After a pair of disheartening losses at the Barrie Molson Centre put the Ottawa 67’s on the brink, they came back with a 2-1 win on home ice to stay in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Barrie Colts.

April 09, 2012

On November 17th, the Ottawa 67's struck a minor deal with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds that, understandably, didn't garner much attention. In the pre-season, with Petr Mrazek and Shayne Campbell at NHL camps, the fort was held down only by Karsten Pankhurst, who hadn't played a regular season game in his OHL career (he was a backup in Plymouth).

by Alex Quevillon
It took just under 90 minutes of hockey to find a winner on Sunday, but with 9:53 gone in the second Overtime, Colts Captain Colin Behenna beat Petr Mrazek from far out to send Barrie home with a series split in Ottawa, in what ended up being the second-longest game in 67’s history. (The longest? MEMORIAL CUP (2005) GAME 2 – Ottawa vs Kelowna – Ottawa Wins in 2OT (3-2) )

April 07, 2012

Just when it looked as though the Barrie Colts were going to take over game one of the Eastern Conference Semi Final in Ottawa, the home town 67's came out with an explosive second period and never looked back, taking the series opener by a score of 5-1.

April 06, 2012

This was a very close battle all season long. All four games were decided by 1 goal with the exception to the third game of the regular season series where Ottawa netted a late insurance goal for a 2 goal win.